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Indictment in Burleson County Klansmen Case Shocks Texas
Six men are indicted and four held on charges tied to the Merle ballot box theft in 1922 and Otto Lange murder in Somerville. Sheriff Lewis and state rangers pin the ballot theft on former Klansmen and name Kinch Shelbourne, Charles Balke among the accused. Lange's killing, a hallmark of klan strife, sparked a statewide inquiry led by acting Governor T. W. Davidson and Governor Neff. Indictments followed a grand jury finding and arrests in Caldwell and Bellville.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Merle
Burleson County
Caldwell
Ku Klux Klan
Otto Lange
Otto
Somerville
T. W. Davidson
Ferguson
Lange
Israel
Texas
Clint B. Lewis
M. Shelbourne
Sam Gaines Davis Lauderdale
Buck Tuttle
Court House
Kinch Shelbourne
Charles Balke
Kinch
Davis Lauderdale
United States
Sam Gaines
Bellville
Lewis
T. W Davidson
Clint Lewis
Court Hous
Laruie
Somervill
J. B. Pri
Orange
Balle
Balles
Buck
Kinch Shelburne
Chas. Balke
Railroad Round House
Santa Fe
Tuttle
J. M. Shelbourne
Lauderdale
Mar